Remember that wide-eyed wonder of your first childhood trips away?
Your first suitcase, passport stamp and the postcards you would send to your grandparents back home?
You may think that much of that excitement has been lost as travel has become so ubiquitous and stressful, and for young digital natives Facebook status updates have replaced poste restante letters and postcards. But the magic of slow travel needn’t be lost on the next generation thanks to Little Passports, a monthly subscription service for 6 to 10–year-olds founded in the US by two entrepreneurial moms passionate about the people and cultures of other countries.
Amy Kanter and Stella Ma have backgrounds in consumer products and e-commerce and were surprised by the lack of educational and entertaining products on the market that could nurture a new generation of global citizens. So they invented the colourful characters of Sam and Sofia who travel the world on their magical GPS-enabled scooter, sending back souvenirs and letters to young subscribers.
In the first month, kids get an Explorer Kit which includes a travel suitcase, a passport, world-sized map and an activity sheet. Every month after that they receive a parcel containing a letter from a new country with souvenirs, stickers and a collectible boarding pass with a secret code to access country-specific educational games online.
Glowing testimonials on the Little Passports website and a string of awards show that these little parcels are more than a nostalgic nod to a slower past, but a way to tempt kids away from Nintendo when they go on their first adventures abroad and to teach them the joys of slow travel.
Subscriptions to Little Passports start at $10.95 per month and one percent of sales go to non-profit charities for children.
